Well, I thought it was truly excellent...one of the few games I can be losing at and still be having a lot of fun. I played the MP demo to death (probably logged 6 or 7 hours on it), so I was really eagerly anticipating this release, even from the point many weeks ago when it was just speculation on the Vivendi forums. It completely met my expectations; I think FEAR's core combat is more exciting and visceral than the combat of almost any other game out there. Though much of the community sucks, there are some good people out there who follow the rules and don't run around unarmed all the time (something I don't have a problem with, but many do), and when a group of those people come together, the game is amazing, or at least I think.
Weapon balance is still a bit off (the G2, Penetrator, and A12's seem too overpowered right now), but that has at least been fixed somewhat from the past, where the G12 ruled all. I treat it almost like a tactical shooter, walking slow, listening for sounds, leaning around corners, and clearing rooms before entering with nades. But the game works just as well played like an arcade shooter, jumping around corners and constantly running and stuff like that. I think that is a sign of much playtesting and balancing before release...very cool.
And, if you guys haven't played slo-mo servers yet, do so. The person carrying the powerup can be seen from anywhere on the map as a marker, and has a blue aura around them, adding a huge amount of tension for both sides. The person with the slo-mo knows that they are being actively hunted by people who could be waiting around any corner and who know he's coming. Yet, the marker does not show distance, so you don't know if he is behind this corner or behind one through 6 walls. The guy with the slo-mo, as long as he is not snuck up upon, can take out any threat easily with his powerup, which makes the hunters' job that much harder. This adds a great deal of extra intensity to the game, and that sense of fear is something that I think is lacking in so many shooters.
Though I haven't bought the game yet (too cheap to shell out 2 Jacksons for the game), I have been dying to for a while...what I love about the release of COMBAT is that not only do I get to play this, in my opinion, awesome MP shooter for free, but it may indicate a price drop on the full game in the near future.
And, while we're on COMBAT, there is already a mod for COMBAT--it's FEAR Co-Op! The guy only has custom-built maps for the COMBAT version, since Sierra would sue him to high heaven if he released the SP maps, but it's still FEAR and still Co-Op. So, at least for me, that still rocks.
Linkage:
http://www.coop-warfare.net.ms/
Granted, it's not out for COMBAT yet, but it will be in a day or two.
You'll see me online as DolphinDude31. :thumbup: